Packers are a legit Super Bowl contender

At a cool 3-0, the Green Bay Packers very much look the part of a legit contender to get to Super Bowl LIV down in Miami this February.

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The Green Bay Packers made a big change this offseason by hiring former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as their next head coach. Longtime head coach Mike McCarthy was fired midway through 2018. Though hiring LaFleur was met with mixed reviews, the Packers are 3-0 in his first three games as head coach. Are they Super Bowl contenders?

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Josh Hill, along with former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz took a look at what has led to the Packers’ hot start and if they are indeed Super Bowl-caliber this early into the season (5:03).

Schwartz mentioned that he picked the Dallas Cowboys to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIV down in Miami at the start of the season. While he still feels strongly about that pick, as he should since Dallas is also 3-0 on the year, Schwartz certainly had nice things to say about Green Bay this week.

“Look, their defense, it’s the best [Aaron] Rodgers has had in a long time. I think the Packers are a legit contender here because of that defense. The offense will keep getting better.”

That quote by Schwartz is everything The Pack Faithful could have hoped for. This has long been an offensive-minded team, frankly, well before Aaron Rodgers became the superstar quarterback we all have seen for years. The offense will catch up, but this might be the best defense Green Bay has had since the Packers went on to win Super Bowl XLV at the end of the 2010 NFL season.

There are big reasons for the Packers’ early success on that side of the ball. They have drafted well defensively in recent offseasons and seem to be playing a more physical brand of football under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Having a proven defensive coordinator and a former NFL coach in Pettine will be key in helping bring LaFleur right along as an NFL head coach.

Of course, it’s still very early and plenty of teams that have started 3-0 have gone on to miss the playoffs before. That being said, Green Bay looks to be among a trio of teams including Dallas and the Los Angeles Rams that we’d consider the cream of the crop at this point of the season in the NFC.

All that can change, but the Packers are in a great spot when they host the 1-2 Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football this week. Kickoff from Lambeau Field will be at 8:20 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 26. FOX, the NFL Network and Amazon will all carry the game.

Here are a few other topics that were discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:

• The New England Patriots are better than the Kansas City Chiefs (4:00)
• The Atlanta Falcons are still in the Super Bowl hunt (8:35)
• The Minnesota Vikings won’t win a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins (29:10)
• Would you rather have Lamar Jackson or Baker Mayfield (43:04)?

All this and more!

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